THE GENESEE FARMER. 



113 



DISTILLERY SLOPS. 



Mr. Editor: — It is pleasant to see at this time 

 of excitement and fanatical attempts at sumptiiarv 

 coercion, a practically temperate man and a philoso- 

 pher hke Dr. Lee, not afraid to proclaim in the 

 Genesee Farmer the medicinal and mechanical uses 

 of alcohol, rum, gin and brandy, and also the com- 

 parative value of still slops made from Indian corn, 

 and the corn itself 



It may be difficult for me to show to the satisfac- 

 tion of othens, that the slop from a bushel of dry 

 sound corn, when ground and passed through the 

 process of distillation, is worth as much for fattening 

 hogs as a bushel of green raw corn, fed as it generally 

 is in the ear, from corn harvest to killing time in early 

 winter. But as Dr. Lee has admitted that there is 

 full twenty-five per cent, loss in the ordinary jirocess 

 of feeding raw corn, this waste is certainly obviated 

 by feeding the fresh warm slop at the distilleiy. One 

 reason why still slop is generally considered of so much 

 less value than its cereal basis, by those who feed it 

 at a distance I'rom the distiller}', is that the acetous 

 fermentation had made the slop sour and unpalataljle; 

 whereas, if fed warm and fresh at the distillery, it is 

 not only much more nutritious, but more palatable to 

 the animal, consequently it eats more of it and takes 

 on flesh faster. 



It is true that in the process of distillation the 

 starch of the corn is decomposed, and its sugar is 

 nearly all converted into alcohol ; still, the slop has 

 all the nitrogenous compounds, and the oil is left in 

 the slop, which, according to Payex and Boussixgault, 

 comprises by far the most nutritious and fattening 

 part of the cereals. It is well known how much more 

 valuable gluten is to bread than starch. Boiled po- 

 tatoes, rich in starch, when added to wheat flour add 

 little to the weight or nutriment of the bread. South- 

 ern flour, made of best Virginia wheat, is worth fifty 

 to seventy-five cents a barrel more to New York 

 bakers, solely because it contains more gluten and less 

 starch, than Northern flour, and will make twelve to 

 fifteen pounds more bread to the barrel. The same 

 may be said of rice — a cereal rich only in starch. I 

 once heard a negro complain bitterly when his ration 

 was changed from corn meal to rice, averring that he 

 could not stand it to hoe corn on rice. Why is it 

 that pork and beans are the best aliment to work on, 

 if it is not from the predominance of nitrogen and 

 and carbon, or oil, contained in this food? The loss 

 of the sugar converted into alcohol doubtless takes 

 something from the nutriment of the stiU slop, but 

 no one will pretend that much sugar is of vital im- 

 portance to the fattening process. 



I hope Dr. Lee will continue the discussion of 

 distillery slops, if it only l^e to show up the fallacy 

 uttered by some of the New York physicians, that 

 the " milk of cows fed on distiller}- slop is poisonous," 

 although their pen and ink analysis of such milk fails 

 entirely to sui)j)ort the truth of the assertion. 

 Waterloo, N. Y. S. W. 



The only way to decide accurately the relative 

 value of a bushel of corn, and the still slop made 

 from a like weight of corn, for feeding, is by direct 

 experiments tor that purpose. So far as we are in- 

 formed, no one has carefully investigated this question 



so as to be able to say how much dried slop one 

 hundred pounds of corn meal will produce after fer- 

 mentation and distillation have been completed. In 

 the simple fermentation of raising dough in bread- 

 making. Dr. TuoMPSox (who was employed by the 

 Britisli government to investigate the matter) foimd 

 that flour loses six per cent, of its weight. We think 

 that good distillers use up in the production of whisljy, 

 and the carbonic acid gas that fills a mash-tub where 

 fermentation is in progress, full two-thirds of the 

 meal. Whatever may be the ])ortion left, it is healthy 

 food for cows giving milk, and for fatting animals, 

 notwithstanding certain medical gentlemen in New 

 York have condemned the u,se of still slop as food 

 for milch kine. If cows become diseased in the filthy, 

 crowded stables of the extensive distilleries near the 

 great metropolis, the fault is not in any thing extracted 

 from corn, rye or barley, by fermentation or distillar 

 tion, but is due to bad management. Give to the 

 cows in tliese stables clean bedding and pure air, by 

 proper ventilation, and the prompt removal of all 

 dung and urine, in addition to a jDroper proportion of 

 solid feed with their slops, and they will j-ield as pure 

 milk as can be formed from any corn meal, hay, corn 

 fodder and straw. 



Corn contains more oil than any other cereal; and 

 nearly all of this fat-forming element remains in the 

 slop after the starch and sugar of the grain have 

 been transformed into alcohol and carbonic acid. 

 Most of the muscle-forming elements in the grain (its 

 protein compounds) also remains in the slop. Cows, 

 hogs and cattle can never give a profitable return 

 for the slops consumed, unless kept in sound health- 

 Distillers too often overlook this important point, and 

 allow their stables to become foul and pestilent. 

 Against such nuisances every neighborhood ought to 

 protest until they are abated. 



One of the best uses that alcohol and whisky can 

 be put to is to transform the spirit into vinegar for 

 pickling cucuml:)ers, beets and other vegetables, and 

 some fruits. Our reading and many years of pretty 

 close observation of the habits and diseases of the 

 American people, lead to the conclusion that they 

 need more vegetable acids to prevent accumulations 

 of bile in the system, and ought to consume less of 

 fat pork, beef and mutton, and perhaps butter. The 

 general prevalence of bilious maladies, arises more 

 from unwise dietetics than bad climates. No vinegar 

 can be formed from apples, grapes or sugar, without 

 first forming alcohol; and our notion is not to stop at 

 this point and consume the spirit in cider, wine, 

 whisky, rum, gin or brandy, but to change all these 

 into vinegar and take it into the system in moderate 

 doses. The physiological value of sour milk, and 

 other acid food,\vill be discussed hereafter. — Ed. 



FARMING IN CALIFORNIA. 



Mr. Editor: — When California is mentioned, the 

 first thought is of gold ; and too closely indeed are 

 those terrns associated for the benefit of our young 

 and growing State. New comers are generally anxious 

 to make their way to the mines with as little delay as 

 possible, cx])ccting to find fortunes without an effort: 

 but a majority are doomed to meet with disappoint- 



